By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Bacolod City Councilor Cindy Rojas, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Committee on Health, is pushing for a P500 increase for barangay health worker allowances, upping them from P4,000 a month to P4,500. Earlier this week, the SP approved on its second reading an ordinance authored by Rojas seeking the said increase.
She called the workers “front-liners, who provide health care services and programs not only of the city but also of the barangays in order to make sure that the population is healthy.”
The city official said their current allowance is not sufficient to cover their daily expenses.
Last month, Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda filed HB 4374, which seeks to increase honoraria for barangay officials. According to the legislator, current compensation is not consistent with their duties and responsibilities.
The current law quotes honoraria at “One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) per month for the punong barangay and six hundred pesos (P600.00) per month for the sangguniang barangay members, barangay treasurer, and barangay secretary.” Baronda’s bill would up the figure for barangay captains to P7,000; while the other named officials would see their entitlement increase to P6,500.
Meanwhile, the bill would also guarantee insurance coverage, free healthcare, exemption from tuition and matriculation fees, and civil service eligibility.
Elected barangay officials would also be granted preference for government positions./DGB, WDJ